The present invention relates to a method of promoting a product or a brand in a retail store, to a method of promoting customer loyalty to a retail store or chain of stores or sales outlet, to apparatus for use in such methods and to alternative uses of such apparatus.
A wide range of promotional concepts are known and used in retail stores and sales outlets for specific products, such as a stand dedicated to the sale of a particular range of products, for example ties, in an airport.
Advertisements range from static advertising boards to illuminated or highlighted advertisements and to advertisements with mobile features aimed at capturing the attention of customers in a store or at a sales outlet.
The advertisements are sometimes directed to a single product, or to a brand of products, and sometimes take the form of advertising by a retail store on its own behalf, frequently coupled with price reductions or the like.
It is also known for retail stores to reduce the price of certain articles for a certain period in the day, a so-called happy hour.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods of promoting a product or a brand in a retail store and customer loyalty to a retail store or chain of stores, as well as apparatus for carrying out the method, which provide the customers with more incentive to purchase specific products or brands or to remain loyal to a particular store or chain of stores or sales outlet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for motivating customers to make specific purchase decisions.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to make shopping more exciting for customers.
It is a further object of the invention to apply these promotion and advertising methods to the world of e-commerce by a multi-media version of the apparatus.
It is a yet further object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus of the above kind which are particularly suited to the way retail stores and chains of stores are organized and which relieve the management of such retail stores or chains of administrative effort in connection with the promotion activity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of a general type which can be used not only for the above purposes, but also for the issue of lottery tickets or other forms of tickets and which can be configured, for example, as a gaming machine.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
In order to satisfy the above objects there is provided, in accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a method of promoting a product or a brand in a retail store comprising the steps of analyzing data determined at a point of sale relating to purchases by a customer, e.g. data from a bar-code scanner, to determine whether a customer has purchased a particular product or brand or has purchased products equaling or exceeding a predetermined value and, if this is the case, entitling the customer to participate in a prize/bonus ticket game configured as a game of chance, conducting a game of chance based on a predetermined win table having a specified number of predetermined winning numbers each associated with a bonus or prize and a further number of no win stops, i.e. numbers which are not winning numbers, and in the case of a win, issuing to the customer a lottery ticket which is a winning ticket associated with the product or product range.
The invention is thus based on the concept that the promotion of a particular product or brand of products can be made more exciting for the customer and more effective because of enhanced customer interest if the customer is entitled, on purchasing a product or brand, to participate in a game of chance which gives the opportunity for the customer to win a prize, with the validation of prizes taking place via a type of lottery ticket.
The invention has recognized that many customers purchase scratch card-type lottery tickets at points of sale, for example at cash tills of supermarkets or large stores, and engage, of their own volition, in games of chance. The present invention has recognized that this type of behavior can be used to great effect as an advertising medium, not just promoting the interests of the lottery company, but also basically the interests of any manufacturer of any product or brand or, as will be seen later, the sales promotion of a store or chain of stores or indeed of any sales outlet, be it a tie shop in an airport or a newspaper shop on the corner.
More specifically, general advertising can be carried out so that a customer is aware that purchase of a particular product or brand may entitle him to participate in a game of chance. Even if the customer is aware that such promotion is running he may, of his own volition, purchase the relevant brand or product. At the point of sale customer purchases will normally be scanned by a barcode scanner. Information on the identity of the products purchased is thus available to a computer system through the barcode scanner. Thus, the information produced by the barcode scanner can be checked to see whether the customer has purchased a particular product or brand, or products equaling or exceeding a predetermined value, and, if this is the case, can trigger a signal which entitles the customer to participate in a prize/bonus ticket game configured as a game of chance.
The fact that the customer is entitled to participate in such a game of chance, as a result of his purchases, can be signaled to the customer, and indeed to other customers in a retail store or sales outlet in a wide variety of ways, and in particular by the step of operating at least one display or advertisement associated with the product or brand. The game of chance is conducted on the spot and a decision is made, also on the spot, as to whether the customer has won or lost. If the result is a loss, that is the end of the game and no ticket is issued. In the event of a win a ticket is issued to the customer giving details of the win. The issue of a winning ticket can again be coupled to the operation of at least one display or advertisement associated with the product or brand. Again, this is intended to promote customer awareness of the promotion that is running and to encourage other customers to purchase the products and thus to participate in the game of chance and have the possibility of a win.
The win associated with the game of chance is recorded on the ticket, which can itself be configured as a scratch card ticket (but must not be so configured) and thus the customer is immediately able to check what he has won at the point of sale. Frequently, the win will simply be a small win, such as a small rebate on the purchases made by the customer, or a small sum of money, or the entitlement to purchase more of the article concerned at half price or something of this nature. Such small wins will usually be paid out by the retail store or sales outlet on the spot.
When the winning ticket is associated with a high win, for example a television set, or a car or a vacation, then the customer will normally be expected to send the ticket to a company responsible for payment of the win.
By applying codes to the winning tickets, for example a barcode, it is possible for the company responsible for payment of the win to check that the winning ticket is indeed a valid winning ticket and not a forgery. Clearly the prize is only transferred to the customer when the ticket has been authenticated.
Because a customer learns of his win at the point of sale, the excitement associated with a win will be apparent to other customers, particularly when a major win is involved. It will thus, on the one hand, motivate these other customers to participate in the promotion, or will at least enhance the chances of them remaining loyal to the store or sales outlet where such a promotion is running. At the very least, the air of excitement will help convert the shopping activity from a frequently dreary task to a more exciting prospect.
In a similar manner it is possible for a retail store or chain of stores to use similar techniques for promoting their own sales activities. Thus, an advertising campaign on behalf of a store or chain of stores, or indeed on behalf of any sales outlet, can be configured by the store, or chain of stores, or sales outlet, or by their management, or by advertising consultants, such that a whole range of different inputs can trigger a game of chance for a customer.
Thus, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of promoting customer loyalty to a retail store, or chain of stores, or sales outlet comprising the steps of analyzing data determined at a point of sale relating to purchases by a customer, e.g. data from a barcode scanner, to determine whether the customer has purchased a predetermined article or an article having a predetermined value or articles having a total value equal to or exceeding a predetermined value and, if this is the case, entitling the customer to participate in a prize/bonus ticket game configured as a game of chance, conducting a game of chance based on a predetermined win table having a specified number of predetermined winning numbers each associated with a bonus or prize and a further number of no win stops, i.e. numbers which are not winning numbers and, in the case of a win, issuing to the customer a ticket which is a winning ticket entitling the customer to a bonus or prize.
Accordingly, the purchase by a customer of any article, or an article having a predetermined value, or articles having a total value equal to or exceeding a predetermined value, can for example be detected by a bar scanner, or otherwise, and recognized as the entitlement to participate in a game of chance, which then runs in the same way as described above. In addition, in retail stores or chains of stores which issue cards to their customers, for example as loyalty cards or points cards in connection with a purchase incentive scheme, or as credit cards, the customer""s card can be scanned and can itself trigger a game of chance, simply on the basis that the customer is a loyal customer. If the customer card is of a kind enabling the storage of data relating to previous purchases, then the entitlement to participate in a game of chance can be made dependent on the stored data relating to the previous purchases by the customer. Particularly valuable customers can be rewarded in various ways, such as, for example, the possibility of participating in several games of chance, or by modifying the rules of the game of chance so that a loyal customer has a higher chance of winning.
It is a particularly important concept of the present invention that the method and apparatus used for carrying out the method can be set up in a way which is, on the one hand, compatible with normal business activity in a retail store or outlet and, on the other hand, involves a high degree of security with little administrative effort on behalf of the management of the retail store or sales outlet. Moreover, it is important to achieve a high level of operational reliability.
This can in particular be achieved, in accordance with a further aspect of the invention, by the use of a ticket dispenser for a game of chance comprising a housing, a space within said housing for receiving a pack of tickets in any form, e.g. in fanfold form or in roll form, a dispensing mechanism for dispensing single tickets taken from said pack of tickets, an electronic control associated with the dispenser comprising stored information relating to said game of chance, a ticket reader for reading identification information stored on said tickets, means for comparing said information with identifying information stored in said electronic control to check whether the pack of tickets is a valid pack and/or whether each ticket is a valid ticket, and means for inhibiting said dispensing mechanism if said pack of tickets and/or an individual ticket is not a valid pack of tickets or a valid individual ticket respectively.
It is particularly beneficial if the electronic control includes a chipcard associated with the or each pack of tickets, with information being stored on the chipcard.
Since the electronic control contains information identifying valid tickets, it is possible to check electronically that a valid pack of tickets is present in the ticket dispenser, that a full packet of tickets is dispensed and that no tickets are missing, which could indicate tampering by a third party. A ticket will only be issued when it is identified by the software stored in the electronic control as a valid ticket. If the ticket dispenser is designed to issue a variety of tickets, for example tickets relating to a specific promotion from one shaft and normal lottery tickets from another shaft, then it is possible for the software to check that the person loading the tickets into the machine has put the correct tickets into the correct shaft.
Moreover, it is possible for the software to check that the tickets that have been inserted into the ticket dispenser are those that are related to the advertising campaign that is currently running and not, for example, tickets left over from last week""s advertising campaign. The correct association of tickets to a specific advertising campaign is particularly important because each advertising campaign can be configured differently. The manufacturing or sales company will frequently wish to approve the rules by which the campaign will be run, which prizes will be made available to the customers and the rules for the game of chance, for example how frequently a win will occur. Moreover, since the tickets are all winning tickets, they will normally be pre-printed with wins relevant to the advertising campaign that is running. Fundamentally, it would, however, also be possible to print the nature of each win on each ticket as it is issued, i.e. by means of a printer incorporated in the ticket dispenser.
In addition to the tickets being associated with a particular advertising campaign the advertisements that are running in the retail store or at the sales outlet or point of sale will also generally be configured to support the advertising campaign. Thus, multi-media devices present in the retail store or at the sales outlet may be programmed to show certain video films or to display certain messages concerned with the advertising campaign. The electronic control is able to check whether the advertising appropriate to the advertising campaign is running and to inhibit the advertising if this is not the case, as well as indicating to an operator that something is amiss.
One particularly favorable aspect of the present invention is that it is possible to configure the ticket dispenser so that it is combined with an advertisement. For example the ticket dispenser can comprise a vertically extending structure serving as a mount for an interchangeable advertisement such as an interchangeable transparency bearing the advertisement or an interchangeable mask, sculpture or hood which is placed over the vertically extending structure and generally configured in a way drawing attention to the product or brand or sales campaign that is running. By providing an electronic feedback from the respective advertisement to the electronic control it is possible for the electronic control to check that the correct advertisement is in place for the advertising campaign that is running.
Means can also be provided for highlighting the advertisement, for example by the use of lights or movable elements or by audible means, and indeed such highlighting can be triggered either during specific time periods or whenever the game of chance is won or is being played.
It is particularly favorable when the electronic control can be accessed from a point remote from the point of sale or place where the ticket dispenser is located.
For example, the electronic control can contain a connection to a data network, for example the Ethernet, to link the data network to the point of sale terminals and from there to the wide area network of the chain of stores. For stores or points of sale not linked by a wide area network, the data transfer can be effected by a wireless modem typically used in portable phones and operating, e.g., in accordance with the known GSM system. Accordingly, a company responsible for administering the advertising campaigns and running the ticket dispensers can check from its offices whether the ticket dispenser is installed correctly, i.e. with the correct tickets, with the correct advertising campaign and carrying the correct sculptures or advertisements, and can indeed check whether the ticket dispenser is operating correctly. Thus checking is possible, from a central location, of a whole variety of ticket dispensers set up in a whole variety of different retail stores or points of sale and used to conduct different advertising campaigns at different times.
Indeed, it is possible for the company administering advertising campaigns (which can provide a service to advertising agencies employed by the manufactures of the products or brands being promoted, or by the chain of stores, or can itself be an advertising agency) to check that the correct campaign is running correctly at a whole variety of remote installations. Should problems be found, the company running the apparatus will operate a service and can call the store and ask to correct the problem or send its operators to the retail store or sales outlet in question to put things right. Thus, the retail store or sales outlet is relieved of administrative efforts in connection with the advertising campaign, and its role is basically reduced to one of making certain that the ticket dispenser is filled with the necessary packs of tickets and that the right advertising transparencies are in place.
Because the usage of the tickets is monitored by the electronic control, the company administrating the apparatus or the advertising campaign can also ensure that the particular store always has an adequate supply of tickets.
Moreover, because the store has electronic access to all the electronic data in the machine, it is also able to authenticate winning tickets, by reference to a code applied thereto, to ensure that they are genuine winning tickets and not fakes.
It is considered particularly favorable when the ticket dispenser is configured such that it can receive at least first and second packs of tickets with the dispensing mechanism being adapted to automatically change over from the first pack of tickets to the second pack of tickets when the first pack of tickets runs out. This design takes account of the fact that the cashier, who will normally be busy at the till, should not spend time replacing an empty pack of tickets with a full pack during his or her other duties. Thus, the reserve pack ensures that the refilling of tickets can be done (storewide) just once or only a few times a day and that the dispensing mechanism does not run out of tickets unnecessarily. On changeover to the second pack an indicator on the dispensing mechanism will inform the operator of the fact that another reserve pack must be put in the machine at the next round of refills.
It is particularly preferable when the ticket dispenser is used in combination with a point of sale including a cash till, a bar scanner for scanning barcodes on items purchased by a customer and when means are provided for transmitting information between the cash till and/or the bar scanner and the ticket dispenser. This means for transmitting information can comprise a data network and an electronic interface or a radio or infrared link.
In an arrangement of this kind a conveyor belt or other transport mechanism is provided alongside the cash till for conveying items purchased by a customer past a cashier seated at the cash till, with said ticket dispenser being provided behind said cashier when said cashier is seated at said cash till optionally at a position in line with said conveyor belt, wherein the front top part of the ticket shaft of said dispenser can be swung down into a horizontal position, the ticket loading position, in which access is provided for the loading of both ticket packets.
An arrangement of this kind permits the ticket dispenser to be installed at a position adjacent the cash till where it does not hinder the cashier""s normal work and ensures that the associated advertising carried by it is within the field of view of the particular customer and other customers waiting at or in the vicinity of the point of sale.
Also in accordance with the invention there is provided a particularly preferred ticket dispenser adapted to automatically change over from a first pack of tickets to a second pack of tickets wherein each said pack of tickets comprises a continuous web of tickets, wherein a conveyor roll is provided in said ticket dispenser and extends transversely to a web conveying direction, wherein a first wall means is provided at one side of said conveyor roll and defines with said conveyor roll a first passage for conveying a first web of tickets belonging to said first pack of tickets, wherein a second wall is provided at an opposite side of said conveyor roll and defines with said conveyor roll a second passage for conveying a second web of tickets belonging to said second pack of tickets, there being actuating means for pressing a selected one of said first wall means and said second wall means towards said conveying roll to clamp the respective web therebetween for conveying movement in said conveying direction, and means for driving said conveyor roll in a first direction when said first web is to be conveyed and in a second direction when said second web is to be conveyed, whereby to produce in each case conveying movement of a selected one of said first and second webs in said conveying direction.
A ticket dispenser of this kind is particularly well adapted for use with so-called fanfold tickets but can also be used for dispensing tickets present on a roll. It is particularly advantageous that only one conveyor roll is required for conveying either of the two webs of tickets belonging to the first pack of tickets or the second pack of tickets and that only a single reading means, for example itself in the form of a bar-code scanner, is necessary to read codes applied to either web of tickets.
It is generally considered a rather difficult task to reliably separate tickets from a continuous web of tickets. On the one hand, the web of tickets has to have sufficient strength that it does not continually break and interfere with the operation of the ticket dispenser. On the other hand, the person receiving the ticket should not have to exert force to remove it and in any event a situation must be prevented in which the customer, by pulling on the ticket, receives two or more tickets when only one is intended for him.
In order to provide reliability in separating the tickets from the webs of tickets there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a ticket dispenser including means disposed downstream of said conveyor roll in said direction of conveying movement for bending a conveyed ticket at a leading end of one of said first and second webs to and fro about a line of weakness for the intended separation from said web to weaken a connection between said leading ticket and said web prior to separating said leading ticket.
The invention is described by way of example only and in more detail with reference to a specific embodiment shown in the drawings which represents the best mode of practicing the invention currently known to the applicant.